| CPC E01F 15/146 (2013.01) | 20 Claims |
|
1. A crash cushion apparatus comprising:
a rail assembly including:
a plurality of anchor plates longitudinally spaced apart from each other; and
a rail extending longitudinally between the plurality of anchor plates;
a plurality of collapsible bays supported on the rail, each of the plurality of collapsible bays including:
a divider slidably entrained on the rail and longitudinally spaced from a divider of an adjacent one of the plurality of collapsible bays; and
a plurality of side panels linking the dividers of the plurality of collapsible bays together, each of the plurality of collapsible bays forming a space; and
a plurality of crushable tubes oriented longitudinally in the spaces formed by the plurality of collapsible bays and extending between sequentially adjacent ones of the plurality of dividers, the plurality of dividers entraining the plurality of crushable tubes in the longitudinal orientation without the plurality of crushable tubes being fixed to the plurality of dividers,
the plurality of dividers being configured to be driven rearward along the rail and crush the plurality of crushable tubes to sequentially collapse the collapsible bays;
each divider comprising one or more cradle members configured to receive a longitudinal end of a respective one of the plurality of crushable tubes so as to prevent displacement of the crushable tubes relative to the dividers without affixing the crushable tubes to the divider.
|